Of course, the biggest shift of the social media juggernaut is its impact on business and especially marketing. We are now in a world where the consumer does not need any real persuading they are in the position to persuade themselves and they do this by asking questions (in social media) of their peers. The term tribe has gained significant prominence because now the consumer is persuaded by someone they trust in their tribe. Gone are the days that we have to spend millions of dollars to persuade a consumer that we are the best. That is not to say that we as marketers should not market quite to the contrary we are in a point in time that we do not have to waste our marketing dollars or our precious time wondering if we have hit the mark.
The consumer is now telling us what they want and when they want it. All we have to do is make sure the information is there for them to make informed and wise decisions about what they consume. As consumers are as different as the next they have taken the guess work out now and all we have to do is listen. To take this one step further, why not just ask questions? Engage the consumer and they will tell you what they want. For small business this is the sea change that we have all been waiting for. For years small business had to rely on the quality of our products and services and hope that our customers would tell someone about us. When we spent money on marketing dollars it was limited and most often times ineffective. Now that is now longer the case the consumer is going to do all the work for us. I really hate to sound off this way but the consumer has become a true partner in this game we call capitalism. Those businesses that have a presence in social media and those that have a genuine interest in their consumers have the upper hand on others who do not. These businesses ask questions and act on the results of those questions and then ask more questions. If I were a consumer and I had a relationship like this with my favorite brand its like consumer nirvana, if there is such a thing.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to buy what you want when you want to buy it? Of course you need the currency at hand to make this instant transaction happen. Do you remember the time that you had to devote countless hours in research to buy those complicated products like televisions, cars, computers and the like. Do you remember when you had to hop in your car, or on the train or a bus to set out to get this research done and this in some ways took hours or even weeks to do so.
Now all we have to do is jump on our social media networks and ask the question about the best product, or service, the best price, the best part of town to buy or any other criteria your pretty little head could come up with. The information comes to you with the speed of light and then you can choose without hassle, without pressure, and without regret. Social Media marketing at its present pace will not just support marketing it will become marketing and quite frankly I don't see us going back to traditional marketing efforts. Not in the way that we remember when the 30 second or 60 second spot reigned supreme on our favorite television show or on the radio. These spots can be picked up on demand by the consumer when they feel like it and in fact they can make their own marketing messages that will not only make them a loyal customer but they will convert others on your behalf. It is a beautiful thing, nirvana indeed.
About the Author:You can find other writings of Dr. Duane C. Scott at christopherandscott.blogspot.com. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Wordpress. If you would like to contact Dr. Scott directly he can be reached at mailto:photoscott6@yahoo.com No. of Times this article has been viewed : 236
Date Published : Apr 18 2011
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